Halo: Operation Discovery
by Ace Sorou
Summary: An ONI black op sanctioned by the UNSC leads to the discovery of new Forerunner stations. But there's something coming from the darkness, and it's not the Flood. Rating may go up as story progresses.
1. I think I lost something

HAY GUYZ! I'm here trying to start a new project. If I finish this fight, maybe I can finish an original story.

Let's start with the prologue.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bungie. They are a separate corporation whose obsession with the number 7 is renown.

* * *

**RECORDED TRANSMISSION: ORIGIN UNKNOWN; DESTINATION UNKNOWN**

**2005 HOURS, MAY 16, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR)/  
UNSC "CLARION" SPY DRONE C/  
EXECUTE FILE**

PLNB Transmission XX130R-XX

Encryption Code: Gamma

Public Key: N/A

From: CODE NAME BLUESKULL

To: CODE NAME SURGEON

Subject: PROGRESS REPORT/OPERATION DISCOVERY

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, CODE-WORD ---------- TOP SECRET (SECTION THREE X-RAY DIRECTIVE)

/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/  
/START FILE/

Apology about the late report, sir. I've been in a coma for a week due to a recent event.

As we were following the previously stated lead, my ship dropped out of slipspace into the middle of an asteroid field. We managed to escape, but not before we took a major bridge hit to our starboard side. At that point I was knocked unconscious.

From what I'm told, it was Inri 'Ecaolee that took charge and kept the crew in order, as my first mate was among the casualties when we were hit. A full list of casualties is in the attached file. Due to his quick thinking and outstanding leadership, I gave 'Ecaolee a field promotion to first mate. I hope to make this promotion permanent once we return.

Our search for Installation 08 continues.

/END FILE/  
/SCRAMBLE-DECONSTRUCTION PROCESS ENABLE/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

**RECORDED TRANSMISSION: ORIGIN UNKNOWN; DESTINATION UNKNOWN**

**0915 HOURS, MAY 18, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR)/  
UNSC "CLARION" SPY DRONE C/  
EXECUTE FILE**

PLNB Transmission XX131R-XX

Encryption Code: Gamma

Public Key: N/A

From: CODE NAME BLUESKULL

To: CODE NAME SURGEON

Subject: PROGRESS REPORT/OPERATION DISCOVERY

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, CODE-WORD ---------- TOP SECRET (SECTION THREE X-RAY DIRECTIVE)

/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/  
/START FILE/

We've found it.

Installation 08 (Which some of the marines have dubbed "Eden") is the most beautiful ringworld I have ever laid eyes on. It's a botanical paradise, and there even seems to be indigenous life here. Mostly herbivores, and a few small predators, but nothing our marines can't handle. As for plant life, there are plants here capable of bearing fruit and vegetables, all of which are edible. Eden has to be the most habitable of the ringworlds.

But despite it's beauty, we are still vigilant. Eden could very well be housing Flood forms. If so, we will need to find the monitor right away, and coordinate with it's Sentinels so that we don't make the same mistake the Covenant made on Alpha Halo.

We have discovered a total of seven generators on this ring. We're still searching for the Cartographer, but it would appear these generators have nothing to do with the ring's firing mechanism. Based on the size of the generators (they can all be seen from orbit) my command staff and I theorize that this ring was made to power something far greater than a death wave of a galactic scale.

I will update you as I gain more information.

/END FILE/  
/SCRAMBLE-DECONSTRUCTION PROCESS ENABLE/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

**RECORDED TRANSMISSION: ORIGIN UNKNOWN; DESTINATION UNKNOWN**

**1427 HOURS, MAY 19, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR/  
UNSC "CLARION" SPY DRONE C/  
EXECUTE FILE**

PLNB Transmission XX132R-XX

Encryption Code: Gamma

Public Key: N/A

From: CODE NAME BLUESKULL

To: CODE NAME SURGEON

Subject: PROGRESS REPORT/OPERATION DISCOVERY

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, CODE-WORD ---------- TOP SECRET (SECTION THREE X-RAY DIRECTIVE)

/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/  
/START FILE/

We've discovered the Cartographer on Eden. It has led us to Eden's control room. We're currently establishing ground command bases at both points, in case we encounter any loyalist remnants of the Covenant or, far more likely, a Flood hive.

We have marked the library as "Off limits" for the time being. In the meantime, I'm requesting an additional ship to bolster our ground forces. I don't believe the _Thunderchild_ has enough forces to secure the Installation.

I'm receiving a number of reports of Sentinels at a particular area of the rings. They appear to be harmless, however, as a fire team actually made contact with a small group. The Sentinel's reaction to seeing the marines was likened to passive observation and curiosity. I'm ordering a further search of this area in the hopes that the monitor will appear.

It may also be important to note that waves of static have been periodically and randomly rushing through our comm systems. We believe that the ship has been damaged in ways unforeseen by the asteroid field we encountered ten days ago. I've ordered a full manual diagnostic of our communication's array. I have no intention of missing another report.

/END FILE/  
/SCRAMBLE-DECONSTRUCTION PROCESS ENABLE/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

**RECORDED TRANSMISSION: ORIGIN UNKNOWN; DESTINATION UNKNOWN**

**0520 HOURS, MAY 20, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR/  
UNSC "CLARION" SPY DRONE C/  
EXECUTE FILE**

PLNB Transmission XX133R-XX

Encryption Code: Gamma

Public Key: N/A

From: CODE NAME BLUESKULL

To: CODE NAME SURGEON

Subject: PROGRESS REPORT/OPERATION DISCOVERY

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, CODE-WORD ---------- TOP SECRET (SECTION THREE X-RAY DIRECTIVE)

/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/  
/START FILE/

You'll be pleased to learn that we've discovered Eden's Monitor, which calls itself 823543 Patient Boolean. Like the other monitors, Boolean's purpose is to safeguard his installation until Reclaimers (such as ourselves) come to use it. However, Eden itself is significantly different from the Halo rings, moreso than we anticipated.

Apparently, according to Boolean, Eden is a ringworld designed and built to different specifications from the Halo installations. The Forerunners built the Halo installations to eliminate potential Flood hosts across the Galaxy. Eden was designed as a means to escape the Flood. Boolean assures us that the Flood has not discovered Eden, and that no Flood creature has ever been taken to the installation for study. If this is true, then we can rule out the possibility of encountering Flood forms here.

When asked about the specific purpose of Eden, Boolean stated that it was meant to be a one way conduit to another Galaxy. However, it wasn't completed in time, as the Forerunners activated the Halo rings just months before it could be brought online. Boolean went on to say that he took the liberty of using his Sentinels to complete the ring in the Forerunners' absence, and further, test the ring. I asked him personally what the results of the test were. He said that the test "was tremendously successful," stating that Eden had created a spatial gate to a galaxy far, far away. He even went so far as to build a return ring in that galaxy, so that future Forerunners could travel between the two galaxies as they please.

This revelation is somewhat disturbing to me, personally. When we first encountered the Covenant, Humanity was nearly wiped out in the ensuing war. I need not remind you that it was by sheer luck that the Sangheili broke off when they did that led to our survival. Regardless of the bullet we dodged, I personally recommend we keep Eden closed and offline, unless we are ready to go to war with any species that might be on the other side. I further recommend that we keep an advance fleet stationed at Eden, in case a species from the other galaxy discovers their gate, and attempts to lead an invasion force into our galaxy.

I await your orders.

/END FILE/  
/SCRAMBLE-DECONSTRUCTION PROCESS ENABLE/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

**RECORDED TRANSMISSION: ORIGIN UNKNOWN; DESTINATION UNKNOWN**

**1643 HOURS, MAY 20, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR/  
UNSC "CLARION" SPY DRONE C/  
EXECUTE FILE**

PLNB Transmission XX134R-XX

Encryption Code: Gamma

Public Key: N/A

From: CODE NAME BLUESKULL

To: CODE NAME SURGEON

Subject: PROGRESS REPORT/OPERATION DISCOVERY

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, CODE-WORD ---------- TOP SECRET (SECTION THREE X-RAY DIRECTIVE)

/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/  
/START FILE/

In response to your list of questions, Patient Boolean stated the following.

"Yes, it is possible for this Installation to open a portal to anywhere in the other galaxy. Or it was, until I constructed the second Installation in the other galaxy. Now, all portals are not only maintained by both installations, but any portals created by one Installation will immediately magnetize to the other.

"Unfortunately, this Installation was designed to go to one specific galaxy. It has stayed in synchrony with that galaxy for precisely 876,000,073.6 hours. Theoretically, to make it go to a different galaxy, you would need hundreds of starships to tow it to a new location and facing.

"I was able to activate the Installation without the use of an index through a loophole in the Installation's programming. Protocol forbids me from going into specifics, as you are not the designers of this Installation.

"The second Installation does not have a Monitor, but it does have Sentinels. The Sentinels of both Installations are controlled by me.

"Further activation of either Installation will require the use of either Installation's index. Protocol dictates that with no willing Reclaimers, an Installation should be activated in any way possible by the Installation's Monitor. But since you are obviously willing to activate this Installation, I must not use the previously stated loophole."

Patient Boolean is more than willing to help us. If there are hostile aliens on the other side of the gate, then we'll have Sentinel reinforcements when we go to take their end of the gate.

/END FILE/  
/SCRAMBLE-DECONSTRUCTION PROCESS ENABLE/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

**RECORDED TRANSMISSION: ORIGIN UNKNOWN; DESTINATION UNKNOWN**

**1718 HOURS, MAY 21, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR/  
UNSC "CLARION" SPY DRONE C/  
EXECUTE FILE**

PLNB Transmission XX135R-XX

Encryption Code: Gamma

Public Key: N/A

From: CODE NAME BLUESKULL

To: CODE NAME SURGEON

Subject: PROGRESS REPORT/OPERATION DISCOVERY

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, CODE-WORD ---------- TOP SECRET (SECTION THREE X-RAY DIRECTIVE)

/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/  
/START FILE/

I must express my dissatisfaction with your orders. I will obey them, but I believe it is not wise to do so.

I have ordered the 23rd infantry regiment into the library to secure Eden's index. Once it's secure, I will order all troops to return to the _Thunderchild_. The _Thunderchild_ itself will then move into the designated position, and prepare to enter the portal when it is established. The captain of the _Lancaster_ has already contacted me. When he arrives, my ship will enter the portal, and Captain O'Donnell will supervise all bases on Eden. Patient Boolean has opted to come with me.

I hope we don't find anything on the other side of the portal.

/END FILE/  
/SCRAMBLE-DECONSTRUCTION PROCESS ENABLE/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

**RECORDED TRANSMISSION: ORIGIN UNKNOWN; DESTINATION UNKNOWN**

**1132 HOURS, MAY 22, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR/  
UNSC "CLARION" SPY DRONE C/  
EXECUTE FILE**

PLNB Transmission XX136R-XX

Encryption Code: Gamma

Public Key: N/A

From: CODE NAME BLUESKULL

To: CODE NAME SURGEON

Subject: PROGRESS REPORT/OPERATION DISCOVERY

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, CODE-WORD ---------- TOP SECRET (SECTION THREE X-RAY DIRECTIVE)

/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/  
/START FILE/

As you have ordered, sir, we have made our way through the portal. We have also established a base on the other Installation. It seems to follow the same design as Eden, except it isn't the botanical paradise Eden is. It's more of a barren wasteland, riddled with rocks, sand, and dirt. The red sky above seems to adversely affect troop morale. This has caused the marines to dub this Installation "Nod."

Nonetheless, it is still habitable, if barely. The control room, Cartographer, and library are all in the same general location as Eden's, making for an easier setup of bases. We've also secured the Nod index. The portal is now being maintained to it's fullest.

However, there is another species on this side of the wormhole, as I feared. After leaving Lieutenant Plisken in charge of the ground bases, I ordered the _Thunderchild_ to make a slipspace jump to the nearby planet, which was an aquatic planet.

In orbit around the planet, we detected several ships. I ordered the _Thunderchild_ to go dark, and deployed three Clarion spy drones. The spy drones came around from three different directions. Once they were in position, they began scanning every ship.

The largest ship was 1600 meters in length from bow to stern, and numerous turrets dotted it's surface. It's overall shape was that of a triangle, if seen from above. It had the same bulkiness our cruisers have, but it was a light shade of gray. Another ship was 300 meters in length from bow to stern, and had fewer armaments. However, it took a shape that was more like a scattered blotch of paint when seen from the side. It appeared to have six engines in back, and a long spine that connected the engines to the front half of the ship. It shared the same bulkiness as the other ship, but had more of a bluish tint.

It was then that our spy drones were detected, as the bigger ships began deploying fighters that were shaped like capital "H's." I tried to recall my drones, but only drone 3 made it back. They had somehow disabled the engines of drone 1, and out and out destroyed drone 2. I assumed the fighters spotted the _Thunderchild_, as they started heading towards us, so I enacted Cole protocol, article 1.4. I am currently trying to figure out our precise location.

/END FILE/  
/SCRAMBLE-DECONSTRUCTION PROCESS ENABLE/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

**RECORDED TRANSMISSION: ORIGIN UNKNOWN; DESTINATION UNKNOWN**

**1501 HOURS, MAY 22, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR/  
UNSC "CLARION" SPY DRONE C/  
EXECUTE FILE**

PLNB Transmission XX137R-XX

Encryption Code: Gamma

Public Key: N/A

From: CODE NAME BLUESKULL

To: CODE NAME SURGEON

Subject: PROGRESS REPORT/OPERATION DISCOVERY

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, CODE-WORD ---------- TOP SECRET (SECTION THREE X-RAY DIRECTIVE)

/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/  
/START FILE/

Sir, this is my last transmission until my ship's transmitter has been repaired.

As you know, in an attempt to improve Human/Sangheili relations, we've been recruiting Sangheili, Unggoy, Lekgolo, and Huragok crew members into the UNSC. However, one of the Huragok has informed me that the _Thunderchild's_ transmitter has been transmitting copies of secure information to every UNSC communication device within short range. Fortunately, this doesn't include any planets currently inhabited by the UNSC. Unfortunately, it includes the spy drone that this new race has assumedly captured. This also accounts for the static that's been washing through the comm systems of every crewman and marine currently on the rings.

If the aliens indeed captured drone 1, and managed to dissect it and discover the contents of it's hard drive, they will have every transmission I have made to you up to this one. I immediately recommend we cut communications, and maintain slipspace silence with each other until my transmitter has been fully repaired.

I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again.

/END FILE/  
/SCRAMBLE-DECONSTRUCTION PROCESS ENABLE/

Press ENTER to continue.

* * *

Well, that's it for the prologue. Whether or not this story continues depends on you guys. R&R, willya?

You get a cookie if you're the first to correctly guess the faction encountered by the captain of the _Thunderchild._


	2. Hey, I dodged a bullet!

HAY GUYZ! Just letting you know that yes, I am alive. And yes, this story is continuing.

It's just that I have been working through a writer's block, which happens to be the cause of death for most of my stories.

But fear not! I have found enough inspiration to fight it off! And thus, I deliver the first chapter.

Congratulations to Gaboomviper. He gets a cookie.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bungie or Lucasarts. They belong to their respective owners.

* * *

**0313 HOURS, MAY 25, 2553 (MILITARY CALENDAR)  
ABOARD UNNAMED UNSC STEALTH CORVETTE (COVENANT DESIGN)  
UNKNOWN STAR SYSTEM**

Lieutenant Robin Peck had been reading for the past three hours since leaving the portal. There wasn't much else to do when you're alone aboard a ship travelling at 9.12 light years per day. Be that as it may, the young Lieutenant still wasn't used to the lighting on the Covenant ship. He noted what page he was on, and closed his book. "How long until we arrive?" He wondered, rubbing his eyes.

"Speak of the devil." A feminine voice replied back from the ship's speakers. "We're here, Robin." It added, as the ship dropped out of slipspace. "Engaging active camoflage. Any ship should only get a sensor blip."

"'Should' is a very dangerous word, Tikal." Robin said. "Go dark. Minimal systems"

* * *

**0313 HOURS, NELONA 1, 172 (GALACTIC STANDARD CALENDAR)  
ABOARD THE _INDOMINABLE_  
ORBITING MANAAN**

The captain of the _Indominable_ stood, looking out of the bridge of his Star Destroyer. Even after all these years, the power and use of these ships has never been lost to the military. But his thoughts were far away from that fact at the moment. How was he going to explain the existence of unknown ships that could hide themselves from sensors and still remain visible? What's more, one of his masters would contact him at any moment demanding an answer to that very question.

"Sir, I...had something." The Ensign's report broke the Captain's train of thought, causing him to look over at him.

"'Had,' Ensign?" The Captain asked.

"Our sensors registered a ship, but only for a second." The Ensign elaborated.

"We can't afford any more mistakes." The Captain declared. "Deploy a squadron to the last known coordinates. It could be that our guests have returned."

* * *

"Warning. I've detected multiple ships on approach. I guess they're a little jumpy." Tikal reported.

"What kind of ships?" Robin asked.

"It's those fighters from before." Tikal replied. "The ones that attacked the _Thunderchild_."

Robin thought for a second. If this were a human ship, his next idea wouldn't work, but thankfully, Covenant ships had better management of ship power systems. "Minimal thrust." Robin ordered. "Ventral evasion. We need to get out of the way."

"Aye, answering minimal thrust." Tikal replied.

The Covenant stealth corvette began moving slowly downwards, just as the squadron of fighters came into visual range.

"I've hacked into their battlenet." Tikal reported. "If they sneeze, we'll hear it."

"Maintain visual scanning." Crackled the comm.

Robin looked up in surprise. "Can they hear us?" He asked.

"No, sir. We just have ears." Tikal replied.

"And are you translating their transmissions?"

"No, sir. They're speaking English."

The comm crackled again. "Squad 25, this is the _Indominable_. You should be at the target coordinates now."

"Confirmed, _Indominable_. Starting patrol."

"Let's hope they don't find anything." Tikal said.

Robin said nothing, as he stared at the sensor screens. Several tense moments passed, feeling like an eternity to Robin. He kept glancing at the tracker, seeing the red dots move closer toward his yellow dot, and then looking up at the viewscreen, seeing the fighters fall into and out of his targeting reticle. The entire time, his hand had a death grip on the weapons joystick, his finger hovering over the trigger.

He was on the verge of laying down volleys of plasma fire, when the comm crackled again. "All clear. Situation normal."

"Squad 25, Confirm all clear."

"Everything looks fine, _Indominable_. There's nothing out here, not even a Mynock."

"Very well. Come on home."

Robin watched the fighters turn back to their ship, and his hand eased off the joystick. From the speakers, Tikal seemed to let out a held breath. "Looks like we're good to go."

"Yeah." Robin replied. "Bring us down to the planet's surface. I'm gonna get my armor."

"Aye, sir." Tikal replied.

The ship shook. "Slowly." Robin said intensely. "We can't risk detection this early in the mission."

"Aye sir, sorry sir"

* * *

"Captain, The squad reports nothing detected." The Ensign reported.

The captain nodded, when another Ensign spoke up. "Captain, Darth Maladi is issuing a priority transmission to our ship."

The captain was shaken by this news. He had earlier sent a report which contained all the information salvaged from the spy drone. He had expected one of his superiors to contact him. But a Sith Lord was unexpected. And where the Sith were curious, that meant bad things for the center of attention.

"Patch it through to my quarters. I shall recieve it there." The captain immediately left the bridge, making for his quarters with all speed.

* * *

The captain stood at attention before a holographic projection of a hooded figure, with a feminine body structure. "Lady Maladi." The captain began. "You honor me with your-"

"Dispense with the pleasantries, Captain." Maladi ordered. "Is everything you said in your report true?"

"Yes, Madam." The captain said quickly. "We have the drone aboard right now, in the droid station."

"And why didn't you follow them?" Maladi demanded, her tone growing slightly in anger.

"Milady, the ship entered hyperspace without navicoordinates! It's the only way it could've jumped away so quickly!" The captain said this in a tone that sounded as if he was pleading for his life.

Maladi's holographic image stared intently at the captain. "Has there been any other disturbances."

"No, Madam." The captain said.

But Maladi wasn't convinced. "But?" She asked.

"But..." The captain gulped. "There was a sensor error that gave a false reading of a ship in the area. We investigated it, but nothing was there."

"Very well." Maladi said. "I will oversee this matter personally. I expect you to show me the drone when I arrive."

"You're coming here?!" The captain asked in horror. "Then we shall prepare for your arrival immediately." He said, his tone now filled with joy.

"Very good." Darth Maladi replied. "I will be there soon." Her hologram flickered out.

For a moment, the captain simply stood there, fearful of Maladi's visit. Then he snapped back to work, knowing that her visit must have no mistakes. He knew his very life depended on it. He summoned his second-in-command. "Yes captain?"

"Inform the crew." The captain ordered. "A sith lord is coming."

The second was suddenly very visibly shaken. "Yes, sir." He said, immediately.

"And initiate a curfew on the planet below." The captain said. "We may have been infiltrated."

* * *

Robin strapped the gauntlet down on his SPI armor, and went over to a red square painted on the deck. "Preparing to power up." Robin said, as he slid his helmet over his head. The armor seemed to come to life, as the HUD came online in the helmet. "We got juice." Robin said. "Motion tracker green. Tikal, let's test the joints."

"Aye, sir." Tikal responded, as four red lights appeared on the wall in front of him. "You know the drill, sir. Look at each light, and the calibration information of the armor will be sent to me." The test was quickly completed. "Joint calibration complete. Everything checks out."

"Let's move to active camoflage." Robin said.

"Aye, sir." Tikal replied, as Robin tapped a couple buttons on a miniature device attached to his forearm. Suddenly, Robin disappeared. "Photo-reactive panels online. No polarization errors."

Robin suddenly reappeared. "Looks like I'm good to go."

"No shield test, sir?" Tikal asked.

"SPI armor was designed to be cheap, Tikal." Robin said, matter-of-factly. "There are no shields on this armor."

"I see, sir." Tikal said. "It looks like a MJOLNIR variant, though." She noted.

"That may be because they were originally made for Spartan IIIs. They didn't start mass producing these things until that project was rumored to begin."

"That's not in my databases, sir." Tikal replied, confusion in her voice.

Robin smiled. "Don't like that wouldn't be. ONI can't even trust itself, sometimes." He entered the bridge of the ship. "How long until landfall?"

"E.T.A. two minutes, sir." Tikal replied.

"Let your subroutines handle the landing. As soon as we hit the ground, enact Cole protocol, Article one-one through one-three. If they find this ship, let's make sure that's all they find."

"Uhh, sir, what about me?" Tikal asked, a twinge of fear in her voice.

"You're coming with me. Cole protocol, article two."

"Oh." Tikal said. "That's right."

Robin sighed. "I swear, it seems like you don't have half the info you're supposed to, sometimes."

"Sorry, sir." Tikal said, apologetically. "Corners were cut in my production, and as a result, I forget to check some things."

"It's not your fault, Tikal." Robin said. "I blame the contractors"

* * *

The Corvette landed on the roof of a great structure, visible only by a small ripple in the air. From the grav lift, a similar ripple of air came down, and landed softly on the roof. Glancing around, it looked as if the roof of each building was the same, and that this structure was the entire city. "Good thing I landed close to the edge." Robin said, as he got a spool of fiber optic cable, and attached it to his helmet. He then lowered the other end over the edge, and rotated the optical piece toward the inside of the window.

Inside the city, he saw something incredible. What looked like human beings were going about their daily lives on this planet, along with various alien races. The most prominent alien race was a gray, fish like species. There were figures in armor, too. White armor, most commonly. (Soldiers, Robin thought.) But there were also people in armor that weren't quite uniform with the others. In fact, it seemed like those figures were private citizens, which meant he'd fit right in, armor or not.

"Tikal, What do you recommend?" Robin asked.

"Personally, I'd try and find some clothes that match those." Tikal said. "It seems like their civvy garments are significantly different from ours. We could probably get away with the SPI, but let's try and be on the safe side."

"Right, so let's go over the objectives one more time." Robin said.

A screen appeared on Robin's HUD. It read the following:

**Objective 1: Infiltrate the unknown government.**

**Objective 2 (Standing): Learn whatever useful information possible.**

**Objective 3 (Standing): Acquire technology and equipment that may be beneficial to the UNSC.**

**Objective 4 (Standing): Apply all materials acquired to Cole Protocol, subsection 7.**

**Objective 5 (Standing): Deliver all materials to UNSC space.**

**If you are discovered, make every effort to evade capture.**

**If you are captured, there will be no recovery effort made by the UNSC.**

**There will be no reinforcements. You are to be completely self sufficient.**

**Good Luck.**

"Yep." Robin said. "Situation Normal. All fucked up." He stood, unplugging the fiber optic cable, and stowing in a compartment built into the armor. "Well, let's get down there."

Robin took out a hook shot, and shot a protruded section of the roof. Then, magnetizing the gun to his armor, he jumped off the side of the structure, and faced the window. His active camoflage kicked in just as he took out a tool from a compartment in his armor, and started cutting the window.

Once the window was cut, Robin tossed it aside, and descended into the city. When he touched the ground, he carefully retracted the cord to his hook shot, so as not to alert anyone. When that was done, he headed into the city streets. Sticking to the shadows, he avoided all crowds whenever possible, while at the same time, listening to local conversations.

"I hear that Cade Skywalker recently escaped the Sith. What do they want with that bounty hunter, anyway"  
"Maybe they really want him to do a mission."

"Rumor has it the Fel Empire is preparing a task force to take back some of the Rim worlds from the Sith"  
"I hear they plan on allying themselves with the Galactic Alliance. We could be free of the Sith soon"  
"Shh! If the soldiers hear you talking like that, they'll accuse you of treason!"

Robin stopped. "It seems like there are at least three factions in this galaxy. We have to be in Sith territory."

"That's a likely assumption, sir. And it would appear they don't honor basic humanoid rights." Tikal replied.

"Well, I guess we can assume an expansionist's stance when dealing with them in negotiations. Which means they'll likely want war, no matter what."

"I disagree, sir. It seems they're bothering with other factions in their galaxy. They may wish to limit their enemies."

"Let's hope so." Robin stated, moving off to another part of the city.

* * *

This chapter was longer than I precieved it to be. Oh well. I hope for good responses.


End file.
